The Secret of Southsun

by The Guild Wars 2 Team on May 14, 2013

LIVING WORLDThe Secret of Southsun
The refugees from Flame & Frost who were resettled at Southsun Cove are up in arms over the restrictive residency contracts that prevent them from leaving. Tensions are high, and settlers are brawling with Consortium guards. What’s worse, the island’s local wildlife has been agitated and is even more aggressive and territorial than usual.
The Lionguard’s Inspector Kiel has been charged with quelling the violence so it doesn’t interfere with the upcoming Dragon Bash festival in Lion’s Arch. Kiel takes her job seriously, so she’ll need help from players and Researcher Levvi to keep everyone on the island safe from the local wildlife and each other.

Southsun Cove

The Consortium has created a new exotic resort for those looking to get away for a while. Lord Faren and Lady Kasmeer are currently there on vacation.

New settlements have been created for refugees coming in from Lion’s Arch.

Animals on Southsun Cove are becoming increasingly aggressive.

Settlers and tourists have wandered too far from the camps and need assistance getting back to safety.

Researcher Levvi is looking for brave adventurers to help survey the island and recover samples to determine the cause of the native creatures’ increased aggression.

Tensions between settlers and Consortium members have led to confrontation that may require mediation.

The new Crab Toss activity is now available at Sawtooth Bay in Southsun Cove. Players can win karka shells, passiflora, tonics, and more.

Southsun Supply Crates will drop rarely from creatures during the Secret of Southsun event. These crates contain Southsun crafting materials and a chance at a wide variety of items, such as shoulder skins, new boosts and convenience items, and a rare chance at new weapon skins and minis. Southsun Supply Crates can also be purchased from the Black Lion Trading Company (see below for more info).

Blooming Passiflora are now growing on the island.

The larger veteran and champion karka now have a guaranteed drop chance for karka shells upon defeat.

All players who enter the island for the duration of the event are scaled up to level 80. This content is available from May 14 to May 28

Players who complete 25 of the Secret of Southsun achievements will earn the “Southsun Stalwart” meta-achievement. This achievement awards players with a Sclerite Karka Shell back item and the title of “Southsun Stalwart.” The Southsun Stalwart meta-achievement covers the entire event’s content, some of which is not accessible until the next release.

A new title, “Crab Toss Champion,” has been added for players who win a game of Crab Toss.

A new title, “Crabgrabber,” has been added for players who steal 100 crabs during games of Crab Toss.

NEW FEATURES AND CONTENTWorld vs. World

Obsidian Sanctum, the jumping puzzle in the Eternal Battlegrounds, has been moved to its own WvW map.

Entering the puzzle will take players out of the Eternal Battlegrounds.

Leaving will take players back to Lion’s Arch.

Added a new vendor: “Traps and Tricks Outfitter.”

Traps have been added as a new purchasable consumable utility item. Two unique variants are available.

When placed, traps last for one hour.

Players may only have one of a given trap type deployed at a time.

Traps will disappear when a player leaves the map.

Traps are sold by the vendor for 15 badges and 525 karma; they will stack to 250 and are account-bound.

It takes a 4-second channel to place at feet.

Placing a trap uses very short-range ground targeting to assist in orientation.

Placed traps have a 600×90 rectangular trigger area; only enemies can trigger them.

Once triggered, traps affect up to 20 enemies within a range of 1200.

Traps cost 10 supply to place.

Supply Removal Trap

Removes 5 supply from enemies affected by the trap.

Stealth Disruptor Trap

Removes stealth from enemies and reveals them for 30 seconds, preventing stealth.

BALANCE, BUG-FIXING, POLISHGeneral

A Commander’s map pings and strokes are now visible to members of their squad.

Fixed several shadowstep bugs that let players teleport through WvW gates and exploit various dungeons.

Fixed a bug that caused some items to lose their functionality after a player has gone into a downed state.

Events

Malchor’s Leap:

Pact cannons near the Shelter Docks are now fully operational.

The Inquest Ornithologist has been upgraded to a champion, as befits her Group Event status.

Metrica Province:

Minor UI changes were made to the Mark II golem event.

Mount Maelstrom:

The Branded ogre in the Infinity Coil complex is now properly imprisoned in his cage.

Sparkfly Fen:

Added a skill to the seaweed-mine bundle.

Timberline Falls:

Fixed a stalling bug in the event “Protect krewe leader Dobbs as the krewe clears the excavation site.”

Wayfarer Foothills:

Dredge soldiers outside Molensk are no longer rooted in place.

Personal Story

“Down the Hatch”:

Fixed a rare stalling bug at the end of the story step.

“The Ghost Rite”:

Fixed the player’s camera position while transformed.

Structured PvP

Reverted a change to PvP dailies that increased their difficulty.

Reworded some custom arena tooltips to be less confusing.

Profession SkillsWarrior

Leg Specialist:

This trait will no longer function with the Burning Oil siege weapon in WvW.

Healing Signet:

Updated skill facts to show the passive effect and accurately display the healing value for the active effect.

Elementalist

Dragon’s Claw:

Fixed an exploit that caused this skill to fire at increased rates.

Engineer

Kit Refinement:

The cooldown icon will now display correctly when this trait is used with Flamethrower.

Elementalist

Shocking Aura:

This skill’s icon on the buff bar now displays the same icon as the skill itself.

Ranger

Fixed a bug that caused the projectile speed of the following axe skills to be 75% of their intended speed:

Ricochet

Splitblade

Winter’s Bite

Path of Scars

Juvenile Rainbow Jellyfish now uses a unique model.

BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORENew Items and Promotions

You can now purchase the Southsun Supply Crate in the Consumable category of the Gem Store for 1 for 150 gems or 10 for 1200 gems. These special crates contain Southsun crafting materials and a chance at items such as shoulder skins, new boosts and convenience items, and a rare chance at new weapon skins and minis. The Southsun Supply Crates will only be available until June 10. The Southsun Supply Crates will also be a limited-time rare drop off the creatures on the island during this time.

The Consortium Swim Speed Boost is now available in the Boost category of the Gem Store for 1 for 50 gems or 5 for 200 gems. This boost will increase your swim speed by 15% for 1 hour. This boost is not useable in PvP.

To celebrate spring, the Gem Store is making one miniature baby animal available each week for the month of May. This week’s adorable addition is the Mini Moa Chick, which is now available in the Minis category of the Gem Store for 400 gems each.

How to Dance, Volume 1 is now available in the Services category of the Gem Store for 400 gems. This book can be used to gain access to three different dance moves and a skill that will allow you to invite others to participate in your dance party.